Design Gris Gris - a little magic charm for your day!

more barefoot running support

wendyspies — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:48:29 +0000

well, not exactly, but that is what i like to read between the lines

Aug. 1: What Kind of Running Shoe is Least Likely to Cause Injuries? Does Anyone Really Know?http://peakperformance.runnersworld.com/2010/08/aug-1-what-kind-of-running-shoe-is-most-likely-to-cause-an-injury.html

summarizing exercise and weight loss

wendyspies — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:44:42 +0000

still one of the best articles on weight loss and exercise, the nytimes rediscovers that

1 – women have a higher craving for food after exercise than men

2 – weight loss is a basic mathematical problem (1lb of fat = 3500 cals!)

3 – regular, daily exercise somehow keeps folks at a lower weight, but only once that lower baseline has been established

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4 – a new one – ditch the chair at work and you will burn 100s of more calories a day without increasing hunger!

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Weighing the Evidence on Exercise – http://nyti.ms/d9k8MX

innovation through acquisition?

wendyspies — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:08:22 +0000

what do you do when you realize some other company solves your user’s problems very well? and it would cost more for you to do it than to just buy them? and for political reasons you can’t partner with them? you do what intuit just did – you do what seemed impossible – you offer to buy your competition, mint. there have long been competitors like wesabe and yodelee, but mint was better. it was better because it tells you things you didn’t know, it made your money look pretty, it did *design* well. the word on the street is that it was the vision of one person who not only made it beautiful but also coded it! 170MM valuation built on the backbone of a great user experience.

original mint UI

getting things done == meditation!

wendyspies — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:22:49 +0000

went through some training on the ‘getting things done‘ system years and years ago. ran into a podcast (on alt-mba) reviewing that again in a new framing that really spoke to me. the talk linked the GTD process to yoga! the idea is that there are lots of thoughts and interruptions that happen in your life that gets in the way of getting things done and the methodologies they teach are one way of quieting down the mind so we can focus and move forward. i love the idea and will try to see how i can utilize that in my life and maybe in my yoga teaching.

getting things done as zen meditation

sketching as a presentation

wendyspies — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:22:02 +0000

loving my current read ‘the back of the napkin‘. i have digested only about 100 pages and it has already been worth it! it legitimizes how i already think, but helps systematize things. it reinforces something that i hear a lot, but haven’t been taking to heart very well, that it is all about telling a story. numbers and data don’t matter as much as a personal connection to the information being presented.

designer – keeping it ‘real’ but learning the language of business

wendyspies — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:13:26 +0000

what does a designer become when they grow up? do they move into management or do they stay designers forever. what is a “good” title for a designer? how many designers go on to get their MBA or their PhD? or do they change industries? or move on from design all together? i have several old designer friends that now make movies, or are CTOs, or have become stay at home moms. design is a strange career path.

Design beliefs can be blinding

i assume designers aren’t the only ones with these questions and career changes. i believe for the most part that i can lump most designers into the category of ‘believers’. these are the types (including myself) that passionately believe in something. believers have a tendency to go hot and cold. once the faith is gone the faith is gone. once the belief is there it is hard to convince us otherwise.

this lends itself to lots of issues, of course, because passion and logic are often strange bedfellows. it means we tend to have a hard time communicating with the business types that tend to control budgets. we want people to ‘see’ it the way we do. how do we best learn the language of others? and still be a ‘good’ designer? if you change to become more business-y should you have another title? it is something that i am working on.

clearly it has been a while

wendyspies — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:50:42 +0000

i have moved into tweet/facebook land. while it doesn’t solve all my needs, it helps with blank page syndrome.

follow me here on twitter

Intuit Women’s Network Presents Nora Denzel – The Top Ten Ways Women Shoot Themselves in the Foot in the Workplace

wendyspies — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:29:14 +0000

Not sure these only apply to women!

1. You control your own P.R. – Every time you talk to someone it is like a press release.

2. Aim high – have lofty goals and let people know what they are. You will get a lot of feedback that will help you refine your goals.

3. Lighten up and separate (work from non-work)

4. Learn how to ask – If there is something you want don’t be afraid to ask for it (men do this all the time)

5. Kill Miss Congeniality

6. Act as if – How would someone confident act… Even if you are unsure act as if you are not.

7. Feel comfortable with being uncomfortable – when you are uncomfortable you are learning. When you feel comfortable you are no longer learning.

8. Learn how to embrace criticism – Listen to the feedback, ask clarifying questions, and thank them. The next day thank them again and ask more questions.

9. You make the rules

10. Remember what you are judged on – You are judged on your results

beautiful LED clothing

wendyspies — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:22:26 +0000

Most LED clothing is giant, cumbersome and looks like you should go to a rave. The work of Mary Huang appears to be elegant and really utilizes light in an interesting and appropriate way. Now, if we could get them to use the light to truly enhance the silhouette (tastefully!) then we would have some world changing pieces!

inspiring blog – the road less travelled

wendyspies — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:10:03 +0000

http://thelifelesstraveled.com/ – a great set of articles on how people have created their own businesses. real people – living their dreams – reminds me of jumpup.